It’s a cold Monday morning in February. The weekend was too short, so you hit snooze a couple times until you finally must get out of bed and start your day. Maybe you’re getting kids ready for school or taking the dog for a walk. Regardless, you know it’s going to be another busy week.
Suddenly, you remember you should keep tabs on your state government. You scour the Oklahoma Legislature’s calendars to see what bills could be heard today, and you call your senator and representative to ask for updates. You are a constituent whether you voted for them or not, and you need to know how your tax dollars might be spent. You look down at your notes and find three pages of follow up questions and a list of bills to read! You call your boss to say you’ll be in late because, well, someone has to keep an eye on the politicians.
Thankfully, you have an easier way to feel informed Monday morning because you’re subscribed to NonDoc’s Monday Minute, our newsletter previewing the week ahead during Oklahoma’s legislative sessions. Our editor in chief, Tres Savage, spends his days gathering knowledge and monitoring political dynamics at the State Capitol from February through May, and he crafts the Monday Minute on Sundays so you can receive important information about the Legislature each week, each year.
Whether you realize it or not, dear reader, your financial support allows NonDoc to continue the work of responsible community journalism.
Now until the end of the year, individual donations up to $1,000 are being DOUBLED thanks to the Institute of Nonprofit News’ NewsMatch campaign! We are one-third of the way toward qualifying for our maximum match of $18,000, so we need your help to reach the finish line. Can you donate today? New monthly donors will have their full-year totals matched, and if we gain 50 first-time donors, we will receive a $1,000 bonus.
Your donations sustain our operations
As the development director at NonDoc since October 2023, I have spent this past year getting to know many of you and learning what motivates you to read and support our work. For some, our coverage of the Oklahoma Legislature remains a key draw. You want journalists at the Capitol, being present in meetings, talking to a variety of people and delivering accurate and relevant coverage.
Others tell me they are compelled to give because we provide the most tribal nation and election coverage in our state. For years, our education coverage has drawn a great deal of interest, both at the state level and in local communities. And speaking of community journalism, our Edmond Civic Reporting Project dedicates a full-time reporter to government coverage in Oklahoma’s fifth largest city, which lost its traditional civic newspaper in 2020.
I have seen firsthand the time, dedication and behind-the-scenes effort that goes into the in-depth reporting our readers rely on, including the hours spent doing work normally not visible to the public. That includes:
- Reading lengthy legal filings;
- Requesting public records;
- Reviewing police body camera footage;
- Researching laws, court cases and local history;
- Preparing for interviews;
- Fact-checking articles;
- Updating stories and issuing corrections when necessary;
- Pressing candidates, officials and PR professionals for answers;
- Sitting through long public meetings, sometimes late at night;
- Sticking out executive sessions;
- Driving to and from rural communities;
- Answering emails and phone calls from concerned citizens;
- Organizing and hosting candidate debates;
- Editing photos and videos;
- Creating graphics and redacting documents;
- Upgrading our website to make it more user friendly; and
- Asking each other hard questions about what to cover, how to cover it, and what is in the reader’s best interest.
I hope this list offers a little additional perspective about how hard NonDoc’s journalists work to bring you responsible journalism, and I hope you will consider donating to our NewsMatch fundraising campaign as a result.
Whatever your reason for supporting our work, we are grateful. NonDoc’s news will always be free to read, but it is certainly not free to produce. Your donations sustain our operations, which makes NewsMatch season the perfect time to give.
